Three Marin health care clinics get funding for Affordable Care Act

Three Marin health clinics that cater to the poor and uninsured will receive almost $280,000 in funding under President Obama's Affordable Care Act, federal officials announced Wednesday.

The money will be used to enroll uninsured people in new health coverage options made available by the health care act.

"This is very helpful and will allow us to assist patients to find insurance," said Linda Tavaszi, Marin Community Clinics' chief executive. "The idea is to make it as easy as possible to get people covered."

Marin Community Clinics — which has two clinics in San Rafael, one in Novato and one in Greenbrae — will receive $129,775. Last year the clinics treated 32,000 patients, about half of whom were children.

The funding will be used to hire workers to get people to sign up for affordable health insurance coverage.

The Coastal Health Alliance in West Marin — which sees more than 15,000 patients annually at clinics in Bolinas, Point Reyes Station and Stinson Beach — will receive $79,790.

The Marin City Health and Wellness Center, which sees about 2,000 people annually, will get $69,320 in funding.

People will be able to enroll in insurance plans as of Oct. 1 and receive care starting Jan. 1, 2014.

In California, 129 health centers operating 1,221 sites that served 3.2 million patients last year will get $22 million in funding. About 576,000 Californians will be assisted with enrollment into affordable health insurance coverage. Across the nation, 1,159 health centers will receive $150 million in grant awards, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

"This investment will give California neighborhoods and towns one more resource to help people understand their insurance options and enroll in affordable coverage," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius in a written statement.